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Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, Don Taylor, Ted de Corsia ... see more see more... , House Jameson , Frank Conroy , Anne Sargent , Adelaide Klein , Grover Burgess , Tom Pedi , Enid Markey , Jean Adair , Celia Adler , Beverly Bayne , Harris Brown , Ralph Bunker , Walter Burke , Alexander Campbell , Curt Conway , Russ Conway , William Cottrell , Sarah Cunningham , Paul Ford , Kathleen Freeman , William E. Green , Raymond Greenleaf , James Gregory , Robert H. Harris , Bern Hoffman , Edwin Jerome , Nicholas Joy , David Kerman , Judson Laire , Perc Launders , George Lynn , John Marley , Carl Milletaire , Virginia Mullen , Arthur O'Connell , David Opatoshu , Nehemiah Persoff , John Randolph , George Sherwood , Lee Shumway , Elliott Sullivan , Charles P. Thompson , Mervin Williams , Mark Hellinger , Joe Kerr , Marsha McClelland , Al Kelley , Victor Zimmerman , Grace Coppin , Blanche Obronska , Amelia Romano , Ralph Simone , Hester Sondergaard , G. Pat Collins

Young model Jean Dexter is knocked unconscious and drowned in her own bathtub in her Manhattan apartment, and a lot of jewelry that she supposedly owned is missing. The Naked City is actually about si... read more read more...x days in the life of New York City that coincide with the murder and the subsequent investigation by Lt. Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) and Detective James Halloran (Don Taylor). The account of their work, and the workings of the New York City police department, is interspersed with brief vignettes about the life of the city around them, and, especially, the reaction of residents to the murder and the newspaper reports of the progress of the case. Muldoon and Halloran first must determine why she was killed, which may (or may not) have to do with how a woman with a minimal income came by the jewelry -- was it a love affair gone bad (and if so, with whom?), or something more complex and sinister? Retracing the final 18 months of the victim's life, their investigation reaches out to a mysterious "Philip Henderson" with whom she was supposedly linked romantically, and to Frank Niles (Howard Duff), who's a little too fast-and-loose with the truth when he doesn't have to be to make Muldoon comfortable; to make things more complicated, Muldoon determines that there were at least two men involved with the actual commission of the murder. The victim turns out to have led a wild life, filled with men and parties, and was tied up with several sordid figures. Their investigation carries them into the highest and lowest ends of New York's social strata to find the killer, and it turns out there are a lot of interlocking reasons why at least three men might've wanted her dead. In the process, we get glimpses of the private lives of the detectives, which was something new in movies at this time; in the midst of all of this activity, the writers set up a fascinating contrast, in adjacent scenes, between Halloran, his wife, and their young son looking toward the future, with the parents of the dead woman, looking back with bitter regret and recriminations -- no movie ever presented in more subtle fashion the contrast between the zeitgeist of the 1930s and that of the postwar era. The final chase on the Williamsburg Bridge is one of the classic pieces of suspense cinema, as the armed and desperate killer races up the walkway past children playing and adults strolling, while detectives close in on foot from behind and patrol cars come up from ahead, with crowded subways rolling past, and then into the superstructure of the bridge for a stand-off and shootout. Sharp-eyed viewers will spot future character leads Paul Ford, James Gregory, John Marley, Kathleen Freeman, and Arthur O'Connell as well as familiar faces Tom Pedi, John Randolph, Molly Picon, and Walter Burke in the supporting cast. Cinematographer William Daniels and editor Paul Weatherwax won Oscars for their work, but awards might just as easily have been presented to director Jules Dassin, writers Albert Maltz and Malvin Wald, composers Miklos Rozsa and Frank Skinner, and, most notably, to producer/narrator Mark Hellinger, who intoned the closing monologue, which opens with one of the most famous tag lines in movie history: "There are eight million stories in the Naked City." ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

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79% liked it

2,847 ratings

Critics

86% liked it

14 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Jules Dassin

Release Date: March 4, 1948

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DVD Release Date: March 20, 2007

Stats: 268 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (268)

  • brooklynspo
    January 7, 2008
    brooklynspo
    Crazy cool Weegee-esque 1947 New York exteriors. This movie begins where most film noirs end. Slightly humdrum police procedural but at the time it was a real breakthrough, since imitated by Dragnet and a hundred Jerry Bruckheimer TV shows. There are eight million stories in t... read morehe naked city and this one ends with a stunning chase sequence on the Williamsburg Bridge.
  • FrizzDrop
    March 5, 2012
    FrizzDrop
    Another in a long line of detective films, I can't justifiably call this a noir by any means. Sure, it's certainly gritty and calls upon the same course set of circumstances to show the story, but has none of the dire aspects of noir. Instead of a larger than life language, the d... read moreetectives all exhibit their own ways, and realism is embedded in every part of this film. This was shot in New York City, and never on sets or lots. It was shot in apartments, on streets and subway tracks, a fact that the narrator of the film proclaims at the start of the film. Besides the fact that this film follows the investigation of a murdered girl, it also takes a quick look into the lives of residents of the city. It's not exactly a love letter to New York, or a condemnation of the many lurid lives that go on during the rush of traffic and the investigations of the police, but it is a wide scope. Throughout a strange kind of narration dubs voices, and fills in the blanks where need be. The story is that of a model who is chloroformed and drowned in her bathtub. Surprisingly the crime itself was showed, and it was amazingly graphic. The look of the film is sleek, shady, and seductively black and white. The actual detectives on the case are varied and at times awkward, but in a good way. The lead detective (Barry Fitzgerald) shows both his professional side as well as his ability to give lessons to beat cop Det. Halloran (Don Taylor). Of all the roles of this film, nothing is dopey except for Halloran, who has playful fights with his wife, lives in Jackson Heights, and is always smiling that same big eared smile throughout the entire film. The plot isn't overly dramatic or contrived in any way, but it's the way it's told, the characters behind the murder that really hold this high in people's mind. My favorite character is the crook Niles (Howard Duff) who lies to everyone, even his fiancee and the cops. He is charismatic, deceitful, and not too bright, but you only feel horror at the depths at which he sinks. It's truly a classic, mostly looking like a documentary about New York at the time, and it would be a shame if you missed it.
  • axadntpron
    February 27, 2012
    axadntpron
    A distant procedural that confirms our worst fears: that committing a murder is as commonplace as going to work in the Big Apple. Right from it's unconventional opening, one gets the sense that this isn't your average noir.
    From there director Jules Dassin treats the viewer to s... read morehots of workers trudging along in their daily grind. Some going to their factories, some at their desk, some participating in a brutal slaying. It's just clockwork. Like a job, murder is just part of some people's routine. The near banality of the crime is aided by a candid and temperate narrator who is our guide in this lurid tale. He seems to take pleasure in informing the audience that this isn't a basic studio picture. That it is shot on location, as close to reality as it gets. This even-keel approach gives the feeling like this is something he has seen 1,000 times. That in a city of 8,000, sometimes pill-popping power-hungry women get offed. That is just the way it is.
    Dassin also taps into the thoughts of the residents of the city. No matter how innocent, hedonistic, or sadistic, they are treated equally. Connected by this city, for better or for worse.
    Pre-dating Scorsese and Allen, who are famous for using the city as a character in the story, Dassin also gives the city a prominent role here. From the opening with the Empire States Building, to the parents angrily-sobbing over how their choices may have lead to an untimely death with the Brooklyn Bridge looming in the background, to the breathtaking ending on said bridge, the city seems to have a distinct impact on everyone's actions. In a way, it seems to be the main character.
    As one can see this isn't your average noir. Dassin, who would later have a rather tumultuous relationship with Hollywood, takes a lot of chances here and crafts one of the more unique noirs that I have seen.
  • bottcorecords1
    February 17, 2012
    bottcorecords1
    Frank Niles might be one of the dumbest "conmen" to ever grace the silver screen. He's a horrible, unconvincing liar who is caught almost instantly in every lie he tells. It's a shame he has to run up against lieutenant Muldoon and Detective Halloran. Muldoon is a cool charact... read moreer. An irish cop with decades of experience, he breaks down the stories of big liars like Niles like crackers in soup. It seems a model has been murdered, and there's a matter of a stolen box of jewelry from the dead woman's apartment. It adds up to a ring of conspiracy and the hunt for a harmonica-playing wrestler. And dumb Niles with his cheap alibies is right in the middle of it.

    As the film opens, narrator Mark Hellinger tells us this film is unlike any we have ever seen. Not shot on a studio sound stage or back lot, The Naked City was filmed on the actual streets of New York City. As good as it sounds on paper, 1948 microphones and recording equipment had difficulty picking up the actors' lines over the noise of the busy city streets. The easy solution, in addition to doing overdubs later in the studio, was to have a narration. This gives the film a certain aire of authenticity (it's been called a "semi-documentary"). There is a gritty realism on display here that one doesn't normally find in the noir films of this period (I wonder just how influential this film was to Jack Webb when he was creating the "Dragnet" series).
  • mjgildea
    April 26, 2011
    mjgildea
    The Naked City is almost enough to piss off the Pope the first time you see it. Producer Mark Hellinger's narration starts off as an unexpected treat (spoken credits instead of a formulaic title sequence? I'm there!) but overstays its welcome & leaves you looking for his Off butt... read moreon. Throw in some odd and random voiceovers for supposed atmosphere and you've got a disorienting and welcome opening 20 minutes. Once you get past that and Barry Fitzgerald as a human caricature The Naked City becomes a beautifully photographed and very well-directed detective story with sporadic film noir moments and a great ending. This movie might seem a little hokey by today's standards, but that's only because it's been ripped off mercilessly for the last 2/3 of a century.
  • flixsterman
    March 23, 2011
    flixsterman
    A pretty young dress model turns up face down in her own bathtub while her best friend's fiancé is busy unloading a passel of stolen jewelry.

    8 million stories in the naked city. This is one of them.
  • ajv2688
    October 24, 2010
    ajv2688
    A good detective mystery movie, I liked it.
  • webalina
    May 22, 2010
    webalina
    The research librarian in me loves this procedural drama about a the murder of a party girl and the steps the police go through to solve the case. Some people made find it too slow, but for detail-oriented folks like me, it's a treat.
  • arashxak
    November 27, 2008
    arashxak
    A good movie but I expected more
  • rubystevens
    October 2, 2008
    rubystevens
    excellent! great street scenes of 40's new york, many shot with hidden camera. the narration gets a bit silly and barry fitzgerald is kind of odd but dassin compensates with an awesome climactic chase on the williamsburg bridge! a huge influence on tv police dramas. 8 million... read more stories...

View All The Naked City Reviews

Critic Reviews

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

A definite parochial fascination is liberally assured all the way and the seams in a none-too-good whodunnit are rather cleverly concealed. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
January 1, 2000
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

A first-rate police thriller. Full Review

Donald J. Levit
July 6, 2011
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

The on-location photography and final minutes on the streets and bridge are impressive, but this noir is more memorable for what it inspired to follow it than in its slow talky self. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
February 17, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

One of Jules Dassin's best features is a quintessential film noir, distinguished by its on-location shooting and Daniels' sharp imagery, which deservedly won the Oscar Full Review

Ken Hanke
May 30, 2007
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Affords the viewer a look at a type of city life that has long since disappeared, giving the film a kind of documentary time-capsule flavor. Full Review

Jake Euker
March 9, 2007
Jake Euker, Filmcritic.com

What The Naked City does is paint an indelible vision of both the New York City that never sleeps and of the human life and industry that teems within it Full Review

August 31, 2006
TV Guide's Movie Guide

This superlative film set the pattern for myriad documentary-type dramas to come. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
May 18, 2004
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It plays as just another crime episode in a typical homicide detective's day. Full Review

Jon Niccum
April 25, 2003
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World

Standard plot but the visuals are amazing

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
February 28, 2002
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies

The narration is the only bad thing about an otherwise wonderful [film]. Full Review

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